The present invention generally relates to a toy, puppet or a holder for a liquid medicine dispenser for the entertainment of an infant or small child and, more particularly, is concerned with apparatus having the appearance of an animal with a passageway therethrough. The passageway accommodates the insertion of a liquid medicine dispenser for holding therein or for the insertion of a finger when the toy takes the form of a puppet or plaything.
Most young children or infants suffer minor sicknesses for which it is not uncommon to have prescribed various medicine in liquid form. Since many infants have an aversion to taking this medicine, the need exists for a toy to be used in conjunction with the dispensing of the medicine. The toy can also be played with at times other than when used with the medicine dispenser thus making its use less frightening.
The present invention adopts the basic finger puppet concept with the capability of minor animation. A finger placed within the hollow body of the toy becomes not only a support for the toy, but also, with minor dexterity, the finger tip becomes the animal's chin and lower jaw creating a puppet.
In instances involving very small fingers, it may be necessary to partially support the toy with the other free hand. As a finger puppet it allows the child to participate alone or with the parent, thus enhancing their interest, and through the imagination of the child and parents, the possibilities are limitless.
The act of slipping or snapping the toy or medicine pal on and off the medicine dispenser should be simple enough for a three year old child to accomplish since it could be fun for them. Children always enjoy doing things for themselves. The medicine pal may then be played with separate from the spoon since children should not play with medicine dispensers.
Most liquid medications for children are prescribed in dosages of 1 Tsp. or less until past the age of 7 years. It is also important to be able to see when and if the medicine has been taken entirely. Thus, it is important to see the 1 Tsp. line when the toy is on the dispenser. A toy with larger size and increased stability should also be helpful when the medicine is poured before bedtime ready to be given during the night.
Other figures have been designed in the past to fit over spoons for the feeding of children. Panisch U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,344 shows a FIG. 20 which sits on the handle of a spoon. The FIG. 20 either becomes permanently affixed to the spoon or is engaged by slits through the FIG. 20. The FIG. 20 also defines an index finger receiving channel which extends from an opening and terminates within the FIG. 20. The channel is to be used while the FIG. 20 is on the spoon. Hoffman U.S. Pat. No. 4,719,702 discloses a hand guard which fits over a utensil. The hand guard is held in place on the spoon by a channel or by an elastomeric strap 16 which grips the handle. Cunningham U.S. Pat. No. 3,854,478 discloses a guard which accepts a server with a calibrated stem. Various design patents for a medicine dosage spoon such as, U.S. Design Pat. Nos. 294,391, 294,390 and 294,299 to Woo and Kelley et al U.S. Design Pat. No. 274,971 disclose a medicine spoon which is designed as the shape of an ornamental figure.
The above-mentioned patents have a variety of shortcomings. None of the patents which take the form of an animated figure are designed to accommodate the several liquid medicine dispensers which are currently on the market. The patent to Cunningham which does accept a medication server is only functional in design and does not have any feature which will help in the psychology of serving an infant or a child. These inventions also do not include a passageway which allows a user's finger to function as the lower jaw of the figure nor do they act as a puppet separate from the utensil upon which they are mounted. From a psychological point of view, for an infant or a small child, it is desireable to have the mouth portion of the liquid medicine dispenser function as the lower jaw of an animal or character. It is also desirable to have the animal or character serve as a puppet or plaything when medicine is not being dispensed. These inventions also do not include features in addition to an animated figure to make an infant or small child comfortable with the device. It is desireable to include additional features such as a game as well as a message to put the infant or small child at ease when taking their medication. The message can be written on the character or it can be delivered by an adult who uses the puppet to talk to the child about taking medicine.
Therefore, it is an object of the invention disclosed herein to incorporate several features which will aid from a psychological point of view when dispensing liquids, semi-solids or solids to an infant or a child. Another object of the invention is to provide a toy to be used by the infant or child. It is also an object to provide a toy which will accommodate all of the liquid medicine dispensers which are currently on the market.